Ellington Teen Named Miss Connecticut's Outstanding Teen

Editor’s note: We published this story earlier in the week, but here it is again in case you missed it.

Ellington is the home of the newly crowned Miss Connecticut’s Outstanding Teen.

Sapna Raghavan was recently crowned at the Mohegan Sun Cabaret Theater and won $1,000 in scholarship dollars.

Raghavan, 17, will now compete in the Miss America’s Outstanding Teen pageant in Orlando, FL in August.

Raghavan, former Miss Greater Rockville’s Outstanding Teen, was one of 20 contestants who competed for the title of Miss Connecticut’s Outstanding Teen. She competed in multiple phases of competition including interview, talent, evening gown, and fitness. Raghavan performed an energetic modern and traditional Bollywood style dance for her talent routine.

Raghavan’s platform, Embracing Diversity through Cultural Awareness, takes inspiration from the author and major literary figure, Maya Angelou, who stated: “It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.”

Being the target of racial bullying, Raghavan has had to overcome much adversity and learn to face negativity head-on. Her goal is to broaden America’s cultural outlook by celebrating and embracing all the various cultures in our great nation.

She is a member of the Developing Positive Youth Culture group in Ellington, which strives to better the wellbeing of the youth in the community, and has founded the Diversity Committee at her school, which meets weekly to create new ideas that will help the student body embrace diversity.

She hopes that winning the title of Miss Connecticut’s Oustanding Teen will aid in her endeavors to shed light on her platform and help the world embrace every walk of life.

Photos courtesy of Catherine Fiehn Photography.